


After Defeat

by Kinger556



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Canon, Angst, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Love, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinger556/pseuds/Kinger556
Summary: Takes place directly after volume 7's ending. RWBY, JNR, and others are currently flying away from Atlas while Salem invades. Qrow is taken into custody, Winter is conflicted about Weiss' choices, and Oscar is lost in Mantle. Jaune/Weiss will be the main pairing. But there's other that will be focused on. The notes at the beginning and end of the first chapter explain it all.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Qrow Branwen/Summer Rose, Qrow Branwen/Winter Schnee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. New Beginnings

**Pairings:**

**Jaune/Weiss**

**Ren/Nora**

**Qrow/Summer**

**Qrow/Winter**

**I have special plans for Yang/Blake too. It's not going to be all in 'romance', but it'll definitely be more than friendly.**

**The rest don't have any pairings. I doubt I'll change that, but anything's possible.**

Normal Speech

_Thinking Speech_

_Flash Back Speech_

* * *

They were still on the bullhead flying. It's been about 20 minutes since they managed to leave Atlas. With Salem personally on her way there... They didn't stand a chance. It'd be better to leave with the Winter Maiden's powers inside Penny. At least that way the Grimm Queen couldn't get her hands on the staff relic... Hopefully.

Yang seemed to be taking the retreat the worst. Just sitting angrily in the corner. The rest just seemed to feel... Defeated. Penny particularly wouldn't say a word. Just stared down at the floor of the bullhead in silence. No one really knew what to say to her.

Ruby was having trouble with that, trying to think of things to say to Penny but came up with nothing. 'Hey! You betrayed your general and partner, but at least you're some magical demigod now!' … Yeah, 'something' about that sentence didn't exactly feel right.

Pietro simply sat in his chair watching Penny. Even he, her own father didn't know the right thing to say at this moment. So he just moved his chair over and placed a hand on hers in an attempt to comfort her. She just smiled weakly.

Honestly, they haven't said a word since lifting off. Fighting against Ironwood and the Atlas Ace Ops, losing the lamp relic, Oscar currently missing, Qrow nowhere to be found... Moral wasn't exactly high. Though Maria suddenly broke the silence.

"You kids can sulk, but we need to have a destination." she said while piloting. There were a few huffs and a groan. Where could they go now? Ruby tried to think for a moment but it was Jaune that stood up and walked towards the cockpit.

"I have a family vacation home southwest of Mistral. We can lay low there for a while." he said. "Once we get passed the Kingdom I can point the way."

Maria hummed. "We'll need to refuel for a flight that long... It'll probably be a couple days."

Weiss then stood up and walked over to a compartment on the opposite wall. She pushed a button and it opened up revealing a large cylinder. "All Atlesian vehicles come with an extra day of fuel... We should be fine." she stated and Maria nodded then started to head southeast towards Mistral.

* * *

Qrow was flown via bullhead back to the floating city of Atlas. After what happened with Clover, he didn't even put up a fight with the Atlesian police. He felt... Miserable. Honestly, he couldn't think of a time he felt worse than when Summer passed. Robyn silently comforted him a bit, but it didn't matter to him. Clover was dead. His blade did the deed.

Deciding to 'team up' with that scumbag Tyrion. After telling Clover to 'do the right thing' was a terrible mistake, his decisions were the ones that led to the mans death. All he had in remembrance of his friend was the sigil on his necklace, covered in blood.

He and Robyn were immediately escorted straight to Ironwood's office where the man himself was sitting in his chair.

"... Honestly. I don't know what to say here. You went against... Everything." Qrow was considering staying quiet, but before he knew it his lips were moving.

"You're the one who labeled me as a criminal first, James." he answered. In which Ironwood narrowed his eyes. His memories flashed back to his last interaction with Oscar.

"Only my _friends_ call me James, Branwen."

Qrows eyes widened for but a second before narrowing back. It occurred to him that Ironwood was further away than he originally thought. "Fine, _Jimmy_ ," he retorted back. "Do what ya' want with me, but tell me what happened since Salem's attack. What happened to my nieces, and the Winter Maiden."

Gritting his teeth, Ironwood almost growled. "That's classified." he declared and waved his hand, signaling the troops who escorted them. "Take them both away." he ordered and the soldiered nodded, grabbing both their shoulders.

Robyn scoffed. "What?! So we're just prisoners now?!" but that was overshadowed by Qrows next words

" **Hey!** " Qrow growled, now struggling against the Atlesian soldier for the first time since his arrest. "Tell me where my nieces are!" he demanded.

Ironwood refused to look towards him. Qrows face went from shock to rage and was pulling away from the soldier until another came and grabbed him as well. While tied up right after a three-way battle... He wasn't exactly in the best shape to fight... Didn't stop him from trying though.

After another hard push, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side. One of the soldiers tased him. He let out a breath and buckled down onto his knees, gritting and glaring up towards the back of Ironwood's chair.

"Qrow!" Robyn's voice sounded worried.

"Damn... Bas-" he was tased again and collapsed on the ground. "-tard" he drifted off at that.

* * *

Winter was currently in medical bay. None of her injuries life threatening, just... She'd need some rest for a couple weeks. Bed rest at that. The worst kind. She had work to do after all, especially with everything that happened.

'Two days at most', she told herself. Regardless of the doctors orders, spending two weeks in bed was too much.

Though... Her mind couldn't help but look back at what happened. She... Basically told her own sister, Weiss of all people that she'd hunt her down like a criminal...

 _Like a criminal?_ she questioned. She was a criminal! According to Atlesian law, Team RWBY, JNR, Qrow, Penny, Pietro, even Oscar and Ozpin were _criminals_!

But all that was just icing on this horrible cake. All Winter cared about was Weiss... How could she actually bring herself to hunt down her own sister?! In fact, how could her sister _betray_ her like that?! She spent time to teach her everything!

How to use glyphs, to use time dilation, summons. Hell, she was proud to be her teacher... Then... She threw it all away to... To follow her leader's whims? Or was it her own? It was hard to wrap her head around it all... But... She did have a while to think.

Atlas then shook violently. She sighed and turned her head to look out the window. _So the General went along with the plan after all._ There were dark days ahead. Salem was at their doorstep and the Winter Maiden was plundered... But she couldn't help and hope her sister was okay while she watched Atlas fly higher up into the sky, hopefully out of Salems reach.

* * *

**2 Days Later**

The bullhead carrying RWBY, JNR, and Co. was flying southwest of Mistral as of now. Jaune was sitting in the passenger seat guiding Maria while she flew. The fight was long, and they took shifts flying. Maria, Pietro, and Weiss were the only ones who knew how to fly though so they rotated.

The ride itself wasn't the worst. After the first few hours, everyone started to kind of get bored of being... Miserable. Luckily, they found a deck of cards in one of the many compartments and that managed to entertain them for the ride.

"It should be right around... Ah, there!" he said and pointed towards the horizon. The other passengers poked their heads up to look at where they'll be staying for the next while and saw a wide strip of grassland which was then surrounded by forest. Only a single dirt path leading up to it among the trees.

At first it looked rather nice... But as they got closer they soon realized how large the building actually was. Nora was the first to perk up-

"Jaune! You said you had a 'vacation _home_ '" she repeated and gestured to the landmass. "Not a vacation _mansion!"_

Jaune looked a bit sheepish now. "Eheh... Well... Er..."

"It is quite large." Ren mentioned.

"Makes you wonder what their _real_ home is like." Yang grinned. She actually seemed to be looking forward to staying here now.

* * *

**They landed**

"Holy cow!" Nora yelled and looked up at the mansion. She didn't think it was possible but it was _even bigger_ than she thought. It was only two stories tall, but the building itself was large and wide. From the sky they even saw it had a track field, basketball court, and pool in the backyard. Who knew what else was inside!

"This is so cool!" Ruby smiled childishly along with Nora and the two of them started to run down the stone tiles towards the front door. "Wait for me!" Penny shouted and her rocket boots activated from inside the bulhead and she flew along with them.

"Don't break anything!" Pietro yelled out towards his daughter.

Jaune let out a light sigh as he watched everyone make googly eyes over the Arcs vacation home. Either it wasn't noticed by anyone, or they didn't care. "So what, is your family rich or something?" Yang asked while watching her sister rush towards the mansion.

"I.. I guess we're more well off than most..." he mumbled, feeling a bit awkward. He could hear Weiss make a huffing sound behind them all. Ren was the one with the next question. "How many homes like this do you have?"

Jaune was silent for a few seconds. "... Four." he decided to answer honestly.

That... Was shocking. Yang's smile turned to a grin and Ren's eyes widened a bit. Though Weiss almost tripped while taking a step forward. " **Four?!** " she repeated.

Jaune nodded "Er... Mhm." He then felt something wrap around his neck. Of course, it was Yang. "Did I ever tell you how extremely attractive you are?" she flirted and batted her eyelashes. Blake rolled her eyes and walked passed the rest of them, following the other three towards the mansion. Ren followed a moment after, figuring it'd be a good idea to keep up with Nora so she wouldn't break anything expensive.

Jaune tried to suppress a laugh "Oh yeah, every time you call me 'Vomit Boy' I really know it's just code for 'Hey good lookin'!'" he answered sarcastically and lowered his head to unravel her arm from him.

She just chuckled. "Seriously though, never thought you'd be loaded. You never mentioned it before"

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, who knew?" she grumbled lowly. No one heard her.

Jaune started walking forward next, trying to ignore the comment. "C'mon, let's go. The doors are password protected so they wont be able to get in."

* * *

Qrow was sitting on the cold floor in a dark cell. Just a bed, toilet, and one small window where light could pierce through. They even took the time to grate it up with bars so he couldn't just turn into a bird and fly away. He let out a sigh and stared down towards the light hitting the floor.

_< Everything I did for Ozpin... For the people I cared about... Of course this is where it got me... Where else would it have?>_

He wasn't angry... He didn't think he had any more anger left in him. He was angry since he was born with this curse of a semblance after all, maybe he finally ran out of the emotion.

He sighed. "Summer... What do I do now?" he asked, staring into the light.

* * *

_**22 years ago** _

_They were standing on some cliffs. He forgot what they were called. He and Raven just got to Vale a couple days ago. All for their father and the 'tribe'._

_It was Qrow, Raven, Summer, Taiyang, Glynda, Bartholomew, Peter, and some others. Though the only one he knew by name was Raven aside from Bart who kept calling himself a 'doctor' despite only being seventeen._

_A young Ozpin, though still with white hair, took a sip from a coffee mug. "For years you've trained to be warriors. Now it's time to put you to the test." he took a moment to glance at all the participants. "So today, your abilities will be tested in the Emerald Forest." he then let out a smirk._

" _I'm sure you've all heard rumors of 'teams' being assigned, so I'll just let you know that today will be the day you get your partners here at Beacon._

_Qrow and Raven then turned to look at each other, nodding. They knew they'd have to become partners._

" _That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."_

_Qrows eyes widened. "Wait, wha-"_

_His platform sprung up, launching him at an angle over the forest. He couldn't hear too well, but he was pretty sure Raven shouted his name... Not so much in distress, more so just surprise._

_He reached for the back of his waist and grabbed Harbinger, transforming it into it's Scythe form and just when he was about to fly down into a tree, he swung, coiling the corner of the blade and shaft around a branch, flipping himself up so he'd land safely on the tree._

_< Well... With Raven's semblance, it should be easy for us to make eye contact before anyone else.> he figured, then heard a high pitched scream. He turned and saw someone wearing white being flung through the sky just like he was moments ago._

_Before he could even react, she crashed through the trees just in front of him and sprung out upside down, hanging and tangled in some vines. "Ugh..." she moaned and opened her silver eyes. They were just inches away from one another, making eye contact with his red ones._

" _Oh! Hi, I'm Summer! Guess we're partners now!" she said and chuckled a bit afterwards. A couple seconds passed with her struggling in the vines. "E- er... Could you help me out please?" she asked feeling a bit awkward._

_Qrow sighed but let out a light grin. "Yeah, sure, just hang on a sec." he said and started to work on freeing her. <Just my luck at work, I guess.>_

* * *

**Present**

Qrow blinked a couple times, coming back from the memory. Of course he'd be dragged into thinking about Summer. He looked around the room, there being nothing to entertain him. With only his thoughts and no alcohol it was only a matter of time until Summer started to plague his mind.

He groaned. It was never pleasant.

* * *

Winter nodded to two soliders standing guard and opened the door to the Generals office. She walked in and stood in attention. "General Ironwood, sir." she spoke to make her presence known.

Ironwood lifted his head up from his computer and saw Schnee. He nodded. "At ease specialist." he spoke first and she relaxed her form a bit. "You're out of bed sooner than I expected." he'd then look more closely at her injuries. Many still bandaged, probably more under her uniform. Then there was that black eye still present.

Winter nodded. "With everything happening, I felt staying in bed wasn't productive enough." she sighed. "What's the situation?"

The general crossed his arms, then looked down at an open folder on his desk. "Salem and her forces invaded Mantle... But before she could come to Atlas, I launched us higher into the sky... She hasn't attacked yet. Though I'm unsure if it's because she can't or just doesn't want to yet." he sighed. "Everything else, I'm sure you know. It was your report after all."

She nodded. "They can't open the Staff's vault without the Winter Maiden." Schnee spoke up. The General looked towards her now. "Perhaps it's a good thing she's not here right now."

General Ironwood's eyes narrowed towards his specialist. "Are you saying you agree with their decisions?" he asked, rather aggressively. It seemed Winter picked up on it because her eyes widened a bit and suddenly stood straighter. "N- no. Of course not, General..." she relaxed a bit. "I'm just... Trying to look on the bright side."

Ironwood stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes and sighed. "I suppose that's all we can do for now." he waved his hand. "You're dismissed. How you spend your time recuperating is up to you." he then turned back towards his computer and began to go through more files.

"Yes sir." Winter spoke and turned, walking towards the door but slowly came to a halt. This didn't go unnoticed by Ironwood and he looked back over towards her as she stood there. "Specialist, is there something else you want to discuss?" he asked.

Hesitantly, Winter turned her body around and nodded, talking a couple steps back towards Ironwood. "It's.. Qrow." she paused after that, watching the Generals face go from at ease to a somewhat angry expression.

"What about _him_?" he spat. She could already tell this would go poorly. "... General Ironwood, sir. With all due respect, keeping him locked up in some dark cell is doing nothing to help us or the fight against Salem."

Ironwood gritted his teeth. "He killed Clover, Schnee. He will _not_ avoid punishment." it was almost a growl. Winter flinched a bit but continued. "Sir, we _both_ know Qrow didn't kill Clover. The criminal Tyrion is nowhere to be found and he was on the bullhead with them." she paused for just a moment. "Plus... Qrow's not the type to take a life like that."

"And what would you know about Qrow?" the General asked and she felt a chill go down her spine. "I don't recall you two ever being close. In fact, quite the opposite."

Winter sighed. "Yes, well. I like to think I know him well enough thanks to those... Irritating encounters of ours. He's unprofessional, an annoyance, and a drunk. But he's no killer." she stated firmly.

Ironwood thought for a moment. Truthfully he knew deep down Qrow wasn't the one to end Clovers life. But he still shook his head. "What would you have me do? Even if he didn't kill Clover, the man causes chaos everywhere he goes. Sometimes intentional... Sometimes not."

"Banish him from Atlas." Winter spoke immediately afterwards. "He'll fly and hunt down his nieces, along with Penny. At least then we'll know they have an experienced hunter with them... He'll guard the Winter Maiden without us having to do a thing. It'll at least make it harder for Salem to get her."

Ironwood looked down at his desk, thinking. Almost a minute passed before he looked up, narrowing his eyes at his specialist. "I will not." he spoke sternly. Winter gritted her teeth inside her mouth.

"He _betrayed_ all of Atlas. Regardless of his strengths, he's _disloyal_ , only following his _whims_." Winter could practically taste the venom in Ironwoods voice. Qrow going against him seems to be a sore spot.

"But sir-" she tried

"That is all, Schnee. You are dismissed." Ironwood turned away now, going back to his work.

Winter wanted to say more but sucked it up. "Yes, sir." she croaked out, turning around and leaving for real this time.

* * *

Jaune walked up to the front door with Yang, Weiss, Maria, and Pietro. Everyone else was already ahead. He saw Nora holding both handles of the double doors, pulling as hard as she could.

"Why. Wont. They. Open!" she spoke in between each pull. Then she let go and let out a huff. "Alright fine!" she stated and reach to grab Magnhild but was stopped by Ren who grabbed her wrist before she could. "Nora, relax. I'm sure Jaune can open it." he stated and looked at his leader.

Jaune looked towards the door a bit nervously. "Uh... Yeah, it's got a password." < _I think. > _Truthfully he wasn't 100% sure... His dad always used to open it before he got to the door. He knew there was some secret to opening it, just was never told exactly what it was. Just some hints and the standard- 'I'll tell you when your older.'

On the left side of the doors, there was a strange half-orb jutting out of the outside wall. His father just said it was the key to the house. He walked up and poked it a couple times.

The others stared at him while he... ' _Worked'._ A couple minutes passed of him trying multiple things like continuing to poke it, press his palm against it, among other things But none of it worked.

"Oh for the love of-" Weiss huffed. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" she asked and Jaune, who was now kneeling down at eye level with the orb, staring into it felt rather awkward. "Uh.. Well..." he scratched the back of his head as he stood.

"I know the orb has something to do with getting inside... Just my dad always used it. I'm not sure how it works." the others sighed, starting to examine other nearby parts of the house. Maybe they could break in somehow?

Before Ren could stop her, Nora suddenly whipped out her Hammer and ran towards a window. "Nora, wait!" Jaune also reached out but couldn't grab her in time.

"TAKE THIS!" Her hammer came in contact with the window. Many watched it, Yang grinned. Looks like they were getting inside the old fashion way.

What surprised them next was Nora suddenly getting launched nearly twenty feet away, falling on the grass. "What the?!" Ruby spoke up, but they rest were making their own noises of confusion. When they turned to look back at the window, the Arc's crest could be seen glowing on it.

Jaune let out a sigh. "I tried to warn you, we're not getting in by force. This place is built really, _really_ well." that was an understatement. "That was **so** cool!" Ruby chirped up and dashed towards the window while the crest was fading. "How did it do that? Is it dust? Someones semblance? More _magic_?" she then turned towards Jaune, stars in her eyes.

Jaune felt a bit awkward. "Uh... I dunno. I... Never asked. We were just happy our baseballs never broke any windows." he scratched the back of his head, remembering one of his sisters _trying_ to break the windows. "Well, most of us anyway..."

Weiss let out a sigh and walked up to the orb in the wall. She was actually curious about that window as well... But she'd rather be curious inside than stuck out camping. She leaned down and examined the device. Her face immediate fell

"Ah... I knew this looked familiar." she spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention. "You know how that thing works?" Jaune asked.

Weiss nodded. "Well... Yes." Blake seemed to catch onto her dismay. "You don't sound very happy about it."

Weiss sighed. "It's an Aura scanner." she stated and turned towards the group now. "It scans a particular persons aura and unlocks, or locks the object in question." she'd gesture towards the doors. "In this case, the house."

Ruby smiled. "Well that doesn't sound too bad. If we figure out how to turn it on, then Jaune can open it. Right?"

It was Pietro's time to intervene. "It's not that simple." he said and they turned to him now. "It doesn't work unless it reads the aura it's set to. But everyone's aura is different... Well, besides-"

"The Schnees' hereditary semblance." Weiss finished his sentence. "We sometimes use these locks to hold personal family items of importance. Like... portraits, or heirlooms. Things that only a Schnee should have access to. Since we all have the same aura and semblance, it works quite well."

Jaune sighed. So that was it. The device was probably set to his fathers aura, he'll never be able to open it. The others seemed to realize as well.

"Man, why'd you Arcs have to make such a sturdy mansion!" Nora whined. Before anyone could say anything, the orb made a beep sound and started to glow white. With a formal voice speaking out of it.

" **Activation Code received: Arc. Now scanning."**

A horizontal light then shot out and washed over everyone at the stoop from head to toe. "Uhh... Should we be worried?" asked Blake, but no one answered.

It then began to raise back up but shrunk down to only scan Jaune this time. "Hey, it likes Jaune!" Nora said but the blonde suddenly felt a bit awkward.

" **Arc semblance detected. Welcome home sir."**

A clicking sound could be heard from the double doors and they both opened on their own, revealing the inside of the mansion.

"Wha- what the?!" Weiss' face was in shock. "Th- that's no-"

"Well, guess it worked out." Yang spoke up and walked passed everyone to get inside first. She put both fists against her hips and looked around the place, letting out a whistle.

"Damn, this place is _nice_." she turned back towards Jaune. "Gonna have to call you rich boy now." Jaune groaned and walked inside as well, with the others following.

"Ooo, Ooo, do we get our own rooms?!" Ruby asked and everyone fell into conversation while Jaune explained the layout of the house and where they'll be sleeping.

Weiss however was still outside, lost in thought. < _This is impossible. Aura detectors only work on_ _ **one**_ _aura. > _her eyes drifted off towards the blonde knight while he was talking to the rest. < _He said his father always used it... So it wouldn't be set to his... >_

The only answer was the Arc family had a hereditary semblance like the Schnees... But that's... While not impossible, very, _very_ unlikely. She would have heard about them! They'd be... **Famous** or at least very well known! This didn't make any sense!

Pietro placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned towards him. "I can probably guess what you're thinking about. But save it for later, we're all tired and could use some food and rest." he said.

Weiss let out a sigh and nodded. That was true, they haven't had anything to eat in over two days. A good night sleep would be nice too. She could question this tomorrow.

She walked inside with the rest of them.

* * *

Oscar woke up, covered in dirt and debris. He let out a groan and slowly lifted his face off the ground. _Where am I?_ he thought and immediately remembered falling out of Atlas. After... After James shot him. His hand wandered over to where the bullet hit. His aura blocked it but... It broke after that, then he plummeted. Did... Did James really try to _kill_ him there? If it wasn't for the staff... He'd be done for.

The staff! He stood and started to look around nervously, but was happy to see it was just a couple feet away. He reached down and gripped it, feeling a bit... At ease now that he was holding it again.

The... 'boy' dusted himself off and looked up to see Atlas no where in sight. "Wha- what?!" he staggered back in shock. "How..." his stomach grumbled. He was hungry, Atlas was gone, and when he glanced around he saw nothing but wreckage and ruin in Mantle. Were it's people okay? What happened? How long has he been out for?

He sighed. Those questions did not have answers right now. For now, he decided finding some shelter... Which hopefully had food and water in it was the best idea.

* * *

**Well, there we go. I've had this idea bugging me for a while so I guess I just felt compelled to write it. I dunno how far I'll get with it, but I'm interested in it right now. It's going to be fairly contained, It's going to be slightly different genres depending on the characters being focused on.**

**I'm also going to try my absolute hardest to make sure the characters stay as in-character as possible. If they don't feel that way, then it is not intentional and a slip up on my part. Feel encouraged to let me know if anyone feels 'off'.**


	2. Trying Times

"Normal Speech"

_'Thinking Speech'_

_Flashback Speech_

**A couple people seemed to express their displeasure with why RWBY and JNR left Altas/Mantle instead of staying to fight. So I figured I'll tell you my reasoning:**

**In Cannon, back in Atlas, RWBY wanted to stay and fight. With them, Ironwood, the Ace Ops, the Winter Maiden, the Lamp/Staff, ect~. It _was_ doable. However there was a 'civil war' type scenario thrown in the _middle_ of an _invasion_. Now, the Ace Ops are unconscious. Winter is injured. Qrow is under extreme mental distress and away from Atlas. Clover is dead. Ironwood is injured. The lamp was stolen. Penny plundered the Winter Maiden. Ironwood shut down all communications because of Ruby. Oscar is MIA, and lost all his aura due to Ironwood. Teams RWBY and JNR aren't at 100%, having to fight the Ace Ops and Neo respectively. Literally _everyone_ is separated, some by _miles_. All _while_ Salem is at their doorstep.**

**If everyone** _**from the beginning** _ **worked together, then yeah. There might have been some hope to push the enemy back. But with so many of their best divided and/or injured, they just lose. Any attempt at trying to fight an** _**organized** _ **Grimm invasion head on with nothing but the scraps of the previous defense force will end in absolute failure and the death of them all. They're optimistic, not idiots. The moment Ironwood decided to sacrifice Mantle for the greater good, and the others refusing to follow his orders, fighting Salem's Grimm invasion head on was impossible.**

* * *

Oscar began to walk. Not anywhere in particular... He didn't really know where to go from here. Atlas was literally gone, and Mantle was a ghost of it's former self. Plus he felt exhausted, how long was he out? An entire day? _More_?

He let out a huff of air and suddenly he hear some flapping in the air behind him. Turning to look, what he saw was a... A _Griffon_ Grimm?! What the _hell_ was that doing in the middle of Mantle?!

Panicking, he ran between the buildings for a nearby ally way and the Grimm flew passed him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

"Okay Oscar... Not only is Atlas gone, but there's Grimm just... Roaming the skies?" he sighed. "Wonderful." he stated to himself sarcastically.

If there were Grimm in the skies, then they were probably on the ground too... He'll have to be more careful... Which is going to slow him down.

His stomach growled again. ' _Dammit.'_

Oscar continued to walk through the ally until he came to the next street. He poked his head out and looked in both directions. His left was clear. But when he turned to the right, he saw two Beowolves. He panicked again and pulled back into the ally.

Taking a deep breath, he began to think of his options. Should he fight them? No... He doesn't have a lot of experience fighting Grimm and any battle would probably attract more, possibly even stronger ones at that.

He could go back to the previous street and look for another way... But that Griffon might be circling the area. He'd rather sneak passed a couple Beowolves than anything that can fly. He sighed. "Alright... Let's get this this over with." he whispered to himself.

Peaking out once more, he looked at the two Grimm. They were... Preoccupied. Looked like they were eating something, actually. Do Grimm even eat? They might just be tearing someon- … _Something_ apart.

 _'Let's just get too morbid, Oscar.'_ he told himself and took another deep breath. The first step was the hardest. He placed his foot outside of the ally and before he knew it, he was quickly aiming for the other side of the street. He made sure to move as quickly as he could while making each step quiet, as well as avoid stepping on anything.

He almost made it! The Grimm haven't even seen him and he was now stepping behind a car for cover, just another couple steps to the sidewalk, then the next ally. He felt some relief and managed to crack a slight grin.

"Sniff."

He froze before fully passing the cover of the car and turned his head towards the noise. There he saw a young boy, two cars away towards the Beowolves. He seemed to be crying silently but one of his sniffles must've accidentally released. He kept both hands on his mouth, likely trying to keep noise from coming out while tears draped over them.

Oscar quickly slid back behind the front of the car. This was bad. The kid looked younger than eight, likely too terrified to even move. If he was left there, the Beowolves would certainly find him once they're done with... What they were doing.

Oscar shook his head. ' _Keep it together... I... I have to get the kid outta here.'_ Honestly, he wasn't in the condition to help others... But he couldn't bring himself to just leave.

So he slid around the corner of the car which faced the buildings and slowly sidled towards the child. He wanted as little of his body visible and tried to push into the car as much as possible.

He made it to the second one. The kid didn't even notice him coming, now that Oscar was closer he could see the boy had his eyes clamped shut. How should he get his attention? Scaring him could alert the Beowolves.

His thoughts betrayed him though. He mis-stepped and knocked a pebble with his shoe. It flicked a cross the ground a couple times and Oscar's eyes grew wide. The child's did as well and snapped his head towards the direction of the sound, terrified eyes locking with Oscars.

Though they immediately went from terror to somewhat shocked. They were both frozen, waiting for the Beowolves to hear the pebble knocking against the ground. But they never did.

Oscar brought his index finger to his lip and made a 'shh' sound and the boy slowly nodded while Oscar began to move towards him again. He was now only one car away.

The boy wiped his eyes from the tears. It seemed Oscar's presence snapped him out of his tear-ridden shock. He lowered himself and started to slowly crawl towards Oscar so they'd meet in the middle of the second car.

Unfortunately, life had other plans.

Just a couple feet before they would meet, there was a growl coming from above the car they were beside. Both looking up and saw a Beowolf snarling at them. No, this was larger than the other two. It was an certainly Alpha.

Oscar didn't know how, but he was able to act instantly. Maybe it was because of Ozma, or maybe just his natural fight or flight response triggering. But he took a step forward, reached out to grab the boys wrist and pulled him away into a sprint.

The Alpha let out a loud roar, alerting the other two who were still preoccupied.

"RUN!" Oscar shouted while yanking the boy's arm. The child almost felt like dead weight, either too terrified to move or their legs didn't reach as far as his own.

Somehow they managed to reach the ally he was aiming for before the Beowolves caught them. Was the Alpha getting the other two together?

He heard multiple growls behind him which answered that question. He could hear their steps too, they were catching up quickly.

"Stay behind me!" he ordered the child and stopped his movement while flinging the boy ahead of him and turning around to face the three Beowolves. Luckily the ally made it too difficult for all three of them to fit in anything but a single-file line. Only the Alpha was immediately visible with the other two behind him.

Oscar pulled his cane out and it extended. ' _Just like last time...'_ he thought back to when he was falling from Atlas.

He held the cane defensively to block the Alpha's strike and clenched his hand around the lever. ' _Please work!'_

The inner guard of the cane began to glow a bright green and a defensive orb sprouted around both him and the boy. When the Alpha's claws hit against it, they were unable to pierce it's form and the two of them bounced backwards into the middle of the next street.

When they hit the ground, the orb also defended them against any damage from landing, however when the bubble popped, the child was now on the ground with the Beowolves still charging towards them. More grim probably on their way from all this noise too.

Oscar gritted his teeth and clenched his hands around the cane. They weren't fast enough to escape three Beowolves and Oscar's aura was still low... He could probably take a hit from the normal ones without it breaking, but the Alpha was another story.

It was apparently do or die time. He can worry about other Grimm coming after dealing with the three in front of him.

...

Boy, when did he get so optimistic? Actually defeating these things? He sometimes missed living on a farm.

Oscar brought his cane to his side, getting into a striking position despite his useless reminiscing and got ready to strike the Alpha.

When the it got close enough he stepped forward, aiming to jam the tip of the cane into it's eye. However he missed. Or rather, the target wasn't there anymore.

A double-sided spear came flying from his right and pierced the Alpha right through the head, flinging it to the side. Oscar's cane strike hit nothing but the air where the Grimm used to be.

"What?!" Oscar gasped but the other two Beowolves were still charging forward. He quickly recovered from the shock and got into position to defend, but before he could a woman with dark blue hair came from the same direction of the spear and slammed both her feet into one of the Beowolves, hitting it into the other and tumbling them both to the side where the decaying Alpha was.

The woman in question did a front flip, using the Grimm as a spring board to where the Alpha was slowly turning to ash. She reached over to grab her spear, ripping it out of the Alpha's head.

The monster vanished immediately after.

Oscar then watched in relief as she swung the spear around her body and sliced into one of the other Beowolves' necks, executing them instantly. The last one however recovered early and leaped forward for a reckless bite.

Oscar stepped forward. "Look out!" he shouted and before he knew it, threw his cane like a javelin which hit into the head of the Grimm, forcing it to recoil from the strike. The woman then took the opportunity to maneuver her spear vertically and spin it to slice through the Beowolves' bottom jaw through it's skull.

Oscar released a breath he didn't know how long he's been holding and finally relaxed after all three of the Beowolves were defeated.

A moment passed while the tension from the scenario simmered down. The woman was the first to speak. "Thanks, You really helped me out there." she said and brought her double-sided spear to her side.

Oscar sighed. "That's my line. You saved my butt." he was still breathing heavily. The two were then able to get a detailed look at one another, both narrowing their eyes.

"Wait, you look-" Oscar was cut off when the woman spoke at the same time.

"You're-" she stopped short as well.

They paused for a moment and the child beside the two stood up off the ground, snuffling again. Oscar quickly ran up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"... We should get out of here. This might've attracted more Grimm." she stated and reached down to grab Oscar's cane and tossed it over to him.

Oscar turned and reached out, fumbling in catching his cane, not expecting her to throw it. Though he managed to get it in his hands. "... Yeah. Is there anywhere to go?" he asked and took the child's hand as she walked passed them, leading the way.

She nodded. "There's a... Shelter we've been using. I'll show you the way."

Oscar nodded and followed. ' _If I'm right, this is May Marrigold from Robyn's team... It looks like she recognized me too.'_

He saw their pictures and some basic information on them thanks to team RWBY sharing it, but he never met them all in person. Maybe their leader, Robyn informed her team all about them all too? Well, that's a conversation for when they're safe.

"Stay close." she ordered and took a deep breath. He saw her aura flicker for a second before it expanded, covering all three of them.

Oscar looked around. "What're you-?"

"Shh." she interrupted. "Don't make any noise. My semblance can make an invisible bubble, but they can still hear us. Just stay close until we're safe." she whispered.

Oscar nodded and so did the boy. They just followed her.

* * *

Jaune woke up and rolled over in his bed until he remembered where he was. He lifted himself up and glanced around the room he was in. It was his parents whenever they stayed here. It was the only room with a king sized bed, the rest had twins. Taking into account the guest bedroom, they actually had enough for everyone to have their own room except for Penny who didn't need to sleep in the first place.

She agreed to share a room with her father and remain on standby.

Everyone was exhausted, even more than they were hungry. Jaune, like most decided to go straight to bed after they chose their rooms. A couple decided to look around for food, but he didn't know which.

Jaune looked at the clock at his bedside and saw that it was 6am. Early as it was, they arrived early-evening so he did sleep 10 hours... Time to see if the others were up. He got out of bed and changed out of his pajama onesie that was still in his drawer. His normal clothes were dirty and sweaty so he just grabbed a pair of his fathers pants and a T-shirt then left the room.

All the bedrooms were upstairs in a long hallway. As he walked passed some of the doors, a couple were actually open. His own room specifically, which he knew Ren was staying in. Apparently others were awake now too. When he approached the stairs he smelled something nice.

 _'Is Ren cooking?'_ he wondered and walked downstairs to check.

When he went into the kitchen and, as he called it, Ren was cooking. With Penny and Yang sitting at the large table talking. The kitchen had everything you'd need. Oven, dishwasher, fridge, sink, ect~. Plus a table to fit at least 10 people.

He wasn't surprised to see Red cooking, while they don't keep the fridge and pantry fully stocked, he knew they always kept things that don't go bad easily in there whenever they left.

"'Mourning." he greeted and the three turned to face him.

"Good mourning Jaune!" Penny smiled.

Yang gave a casual wave. "'Mournin'"

Ren turned and nodded. "I found some flour in the pantry to make pancakes. I'm missing some ingredients, but it's better than nothing. Plus syrup doesn't really 'expire', so whatever we have is safe."

Jaune shrugged. "Well, Nora'll be happy." he said pulled a chair out, sitting down. "How'd you guys sleep?"

Yang answered first. "Like a log. Atlas dorms were nice, but nothin' beats your own room and a good bed."

"It was nice." Ren said after. "Hope you don't mind if I borrow some of your clothes?"

Jaune shook his head. "Nah, I just threw on some of my dad's myself."

Ruby and Nora then walked into the kitchen. Nora, with her eyes half closed, rubbing them. "Good mournin' guys!" Ruby chirped and Nora's eyes slowly opened to see a growing stack of pancakes next to Ren.

She gasped and as if her semblance was charged, she dashed towards them. But Ren was ready. He lifted up his spatula and pointed it at her. "Nora!" he shouted and she came to an immediate stop, inches away from the cooking utensil. He then pointed towards the opposite counter where there was a large plate of at least fifteen stacked pancakes with a folded paper beside it reading 'Nora's pancakes'.

She grinned happily. "Oh, you know me so well~" she put both her hands together and batted her eyelashes dreamily at Ren before running towards her pancakes just a second later, scooping the whole plate up and bringing it to the table where the syrup was.

Ruby started to grab a plate herself, "Ooh! I want some too!" she grinned.

"There's enough for everyone." Ren smiled. ' _I made sure of it.'_

* * *

As they ate breakfast, other woke up and came into the kitchen as well. Eventually they were all there, just making casual conversation until the last of them finished eating. Ren began to do some of the dishes.

It was Weiss that took the moment to change to a more serious topic. "So, Now that we're more... Situated." she began. "I think we should discuss what our next move is."

The room grew silent. A couple faces went down and it seemed no one knew where to start. Then Ruby spoke up.

"Well... Let's put together what we know, for starters." she'd say and look around, some of them nodding so she continued.

"General Ironwood found out about Salem's immortality and decided to abandon Mantle..." she led off.

Yang continued after. "We were against the idea, fought against it, then ended up defeating the Ace-Ops." she grinned.

Blake shook her head. "Which only made it easier for Cinder and Neopolitan to sneak into Atlas undetected." Yang slumped a bit.

Weiss looked over towards Penny. "Penny and my sister fought against Cinder... Which led to Penny getting the powers of the Winter Maiden."

Penny in turn nodded. "And Winter got very hurt in that fight." she looked downward a bit sad. Weiss tensed up a bit.

There was a moments pause before Jaune spoke next. "Oscar's missing."

Ruby sighed. "So is Uncle Qrow..."

Nora placed her chin down on the table, feeling defeated. "We lost the lamp to Cinder."

Ren was looking away, continuing to wipe a dish while he spoke. "We lost the lamp to _Neopolitan_." he corrected. Nora lifted her head up to look at his back while he worked on the dishes. "We didn't stand a chance against even her." his shoulders sulked a bit.

Nora's expression grew more upset and she sighed, turning away in a pout.

There was another depressing silence before Jaune broke it again. "... Salem can't get the staff relic from Atlas without Penny, the Winter Maiden." he said something more on the positive side this time.

Some seemed to perk up at this, specifically Penny, though Blake tried to keep it going. "And they don't know where we are."

The positives ended there. No one knew what else to bring up. Yang noticed this and questioned first. "So what do we do now?"

The question hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity before it was Maria who answered it. "You try again."

They all turned towards her, even Ren who stopped doing the dishes now. Jaune shook his head. "I'm not saying 'give up'... But there's only ten of us... Salem probably has all of Mantle and Atlas by now." he slumped. "What can we even do?"

"You do more training." she answered immediately. Some of them perked up while others looked confused.

Yang being one of them. "We already beat the best in Atlas, what else can we do to improve our odds against people with _magic_?"

Weiss agreed. "Plus we've got plenty of training already. What else is there besides staying in shape and general improvement?"

Maria sighed, shaking her head and turned towards Yang. "Those newbies might've been the 'best in Atlas', but that's all they were." she mocked. "I saw them train, and let me tell you, they're big fish in a small pond. You and your team proved that yourselves."

Yang narrowed her eyes and looked down in thought.

She then turned to Weiss. "You had two semesters of being Hunters in training, a few weeks out on the field, then a couple months of military school. All that did was prepare you for the real training. There's still _plenty_ you can learn." she smirked. "Specifically how _real_ hunters do things out in the wilds, and I like to think I have enough experience in that to show a few kids a thing or three."

The two teams and Penny looked at one another, sharing glances for a few seconds before turning back to Maria. Jaune spoke for them. "So where do we start?"

Her smirk grew.

Ruby meanwhile was grinning madly. "EEEEYYY, We're gonna get trained my _the_ Grimm Reaper!"

She was very happy.

* * *

They were now outside and Maria stood in front of Jaune, Weiss, and Blake. The others stood on the sidelines, all in their battle attire waiting for their own instructions. "You three will be working together." she told them and the three nodded, Weiss a bit hesitantly.

First she turned to Jaune. "You have the least experience with your semblance so you have three main goals." she then began to list them. "First, come to understand it better. This will come with general use. Second, Use it from a distance. I've seen you heal people from a foot away, figure out how to increase that range. And thirdly, and will probably be the hardest, use it on more than one person." she paused. "That... Will take time."

Jaune nodded at each instruction then Maria turned to Weiss.

"Yours is more simple, but probably just as difficult. Strictly speaking, I know little about the Schnee's semblance. But I know your sister can summon creatures faster than you." Weiss narrowed her eyes a bit, feeling irritated. "You'll work on summoning speed."

Weiss was already going to do that, but how were these two going to help?

Maria looked at Blake now. "You're fast, agile, yet somehow always manage to find yourself getting hit first in a fight." Blake tensed up a bit. "You're reckless, and aside from with Yang, you're bad at working with others." she stated. It seemed like she only had negative things to say.

Blake's brows furrowed. "So, what? Am I going to work together with Jaune and Weiss?" Maria shook her head.

"No, You're going to learn to work together with your clones. So far you only use them to add more attacks, or to retreat with your tail between your legs. Learn some distractions, maybe some utility skills." she lifted her walking stick up and poked Blakes gut lightly. "You've got a squad of your own inside you, all with the same techniques. Learn it's full potential." she lowered her staff and Blake sighed.

Jaune shrugged. "Alright, so what do we actually do?" he asked.

Maria smirked. "Simple. Jaune, you will use your semblance on Blake to empower her. No matter how far she is or how fast she's moving, you will learn to keep up." she turned to the Faunus again. "Blake, you will make as many clones as you can and attack Weiss while she fights back with summons." Weiss then widens her eyes.

"Excuse me?" she was starting to question this lady's sanity. With Jaune's semblance, she could only imagine how many 'Blakes' there would be. "I can't fight an army on my own!"

Maria nodded. "Exactly." she told her. "There's no point in only summoning quickly. In battle, always aim for a beneficial scenario, but train for the _worst_." she stated. Weiss flinched a bit and tensed up. "Being able to summon quickly is nice, but if you can't do it just as fast under immense stress then you're just an easy target."

The three of them slowly nodded and got to work.

* * *

Maria was then standing next to a flat treadmill and the bullhead just behind her with it's front hood open. Nora was standing before her, swaying side to side excitedly.

"So, what's it gonna be?!" the young girl asked impatiently. "Battle one hundred Grimm?! Free falling?!" she then gasped. "Ooooh! Do I get to destroy the house?!" her grin widened.

Maria simply watched her while she went off then gestures to the treadmill. "You will be running." Nora froze for a second then slumped. "R- running?" she questioned and the reaper nodded.

"I had Pietro modify this treadmill to go well over two hundred miles per hour." She then reached down and lifted up two jump starter cables with the opposite ends attached to the bullhead's battery along with a copper headband. "You will attach these cables to this headband and run on the treadmill until you can't anymore. All while the bullhead funnels electricity into you." she explained and Nora perked up just a bit.

"Oooo, semblance training! Bring. it. _On_!" she grinned and grabbed the headband and cables, linking them together then wearing it. Leaping on the treadmill, it seemed to be pressure sensitive because it started automatically and Nora had to jog to stay on it.

Maria continued with her explanation. "You have a lot of stamina, Nora. But you're terrible at managing it. This will hopefully fix that." she turned towards the bullhead and waved her hand. Pietro was inside and clicked a button, starting it up.

Electricity flowed through the cables directly into Nora's head, charging her up. "Oh yeah!" she yelled and kicked off the treadmill as hard as she could to get speed which ended with her flying off the machine and into the house walls, losing the headband in the process.

As Nora fell to the ground, the house shimmered once again, taking no damage. Maria didn't seem surprised. She actually expected this to happen.

"Nora." she stated. This got the girls attention and she turned towards her while still on the ground. "There's a lot more to 'electricity' than muscles and explosive force. You need to learn to control it and turn that power into agility rather than only strength."

Nora gritted her teeth and stood up, glaring at the treadmill. "You will meet your maker, heinous fiend!" she yelled and ran back around to grab the headband and try again.

Which ended the same way in just a few seconds.

Maria sighed. ' _Well, I'm sure she'll work it out.'_

* * *

Next was Yang and Penny, with Yang looking excited, pounding her fists together. "Ohoh, are me and Penny goin' at it?" she grinned.

Maria nodded, which surprised both of them.

Yang flinched. "Wait, really? No special training regime like the rest of them?" she asked.

Penny also looked a bit confused. "I'm unsure if Yang and I would be good... Sparring partners. Why are we paired together?"

Maria pointed her walking stick at Yang. "In terms of single one-on-one combat. You, Yang, are the best one here."

Yang crossed her arms and grinned a bit. "So you will be fighting Penny while she unleashes the full force of her maiden powers against you."

The grin faltered. "U-uhm." she coughed into her fist, "Excuse me? Can you repeat that?" she actually looked a bit nervous.

"You will be fighting Penny while she uses her maiden powers." she repeated.

This time Penny interjected. "I'm... Not sure if that's a good idea, I don't know how to use them yet an-"

The reaper slammed the tip of her staff into the ground, interrupting the android. "That is precisely why you will be fighting." she stated. "There's no one who had the powers previously to train you, and there's no time for you to slowly learn on your own." she looked between the two girls.

"Combat is the fastest way to develop. Yang will also benefit from fighting someone on a much higher tier. Maybe even learn a strategy to use against you... And Cinder." The pairs eyes grew sharper at the name drop.

"This opportunity is too rare to pass up. Penny will practice utilizing her new powers, while Yang will try to find a way to combat them." she paused. "Out of everyone here, the results of this training specifically is the most important for the whole group. Good luck." she walked away to leave them.

Yang and Penny turned to look at each other, both seeing determined eyes. Yang smirked. "Well, let's see whatcha' got robot girl."

Penny smiled in return. "Oh! I will give all I have!"

* * *

Finally, it came down to Ruby and Ren. The latter of which was confused by this pairing. "Uhm... I understand everyone else, but what do Ruby and I have to offer each other?" he questioned.

Maria shook her head. "Oh, nothing." she answered, which only made the two look at each other feeling even more confused. "You two just require the same circumstance." she added.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "Er... And that would be...?"

The reaper rolled her robotic eyes, which was really a head roll to emphasis it. "You both have abilities which will only work when Grimm are present." she answered.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Ohhhhh... Yeah, I see now." she nodded.

Maria lifted her cane up and pointed it up behind them. The two looked over to see a mountain in the far distance. "I wish to go there." she stated. The two's heads snapped back. "Starting tomorrow, the two of you will escort me to the top of that mountain and back."

"W- what?!" Ruby stuttered.

Rens eyes seemed to widen a bit as well.

"You two will learn to better use your silver eyes-" she looked at Ruby. "and semblance-" then at Ren. "While you escort me."

The two paused in silence. The mountain looked far. It's be at least a week to get there, let alone _climbing_ it. Ruby gulped. "W- well... Okay!" she tried to grin.

Maria nodded. "Oh, one more thing. Let me see your weapons." she dropped her cane and held both her hands out.

Ruby and Ren looked at one another once more then shrugged, reaching for their weapons and handing it to their trainer, who looked down at them.

"These are fine weapons..." she stated then turned and tossed them into a chest, closed it, which automatically locked. "You wont be needing them." When she turned back to the two hunters, their mouths were wide open in shock. Ruby's more than Ren's.

"Wh- why?!" Ruby choked out. ' _My baby!'_

Maria leaned down and grabbed her cane, lifting it up, and whacked it down on Ruby's head. The young girl flinched from the pain and rubbed the spot.

"On this journey, you will have nothing but the clothes on your back, your semblance, silver eyes, and a single combat knife for each of you."

Ren looked rather agitated. "I'm sorry, but this seems..."

"Suicidal?" Ruby tried to finish for him.

"... Reckless." he sighed. "Something bad could happen."

Maria nodded. "Something bad could happen. It could always happen. It could happen right now." she gestured to the sky. "One hundred Griffon Grimm could come flying down on Salem's order right now and there's nothing we could do. In fact, it happened already. At Atlas."

She then looked back at the two. "But you know what could _save_ us if such a thing was to happen?"

The two looked at her curiously. Then she jammed the tip of her cane into Ruby's shoulder. The girl flinched again.

"Silver eyes and-" she then jammed it into Ren's. "hiding our presence." she lowered her cane. Both of them were rubbing the spots she poked. "The two of you need to learn to better use those assets. If you rely too much on your scythe and guns, it will simply get in the way of training your _true_ weapons." she said firmly.

The two of them tensed up a bit and Ren looked towards the ground in thought while Ruby turned to glance at the mountain again.

It really was a long way... But if it'll help her improve...

The young girl turned back to the Reaper and nodded her head. "Okay! Let's do it!"

* * *

Qrow was laying on the bed in his cell, eyes closed and asleep.

**~22 Years Ago**

_Summer and Qrow were now walking through the Emerald Forest. It only took him a few moments to cut her loose, though she fell head first into the ground..._

_She was kind of a clutz, actually. Tripping, branches whacking into her due to her own negligence. The first few times he thought his semblance was acting up, but he quickly realized it was all her._

_'Great, I give bad luck and my partner is injure-prone. What a pair.' he rolled his eyes at the thought._

" _And THAT's how I got my_ Rose _Thorn!" Summer chuckled and held out her sword. It was thin, had a black hilt with a rose tied to the guard. Looked more like a very long razor blade than a standard 'sword'._

_Qrow looked at it feeling confused. What should he say? He wasn't paying attention to a single thing she said since they started walking. "Uh... That's nice short-stack." he said and walked passed her._

_She pouted and lowered her weapon. "What?! I am not short!" she whined, running up in front to face him. "You're only like, one foot taller than me!" she stated while standing on her toes._

_He let out a laugh. "Sure, sure." he could tell it annoyed her. "C'mon, let's look for these trophy's or whatever."_

_She smiled and settled down, walking along side him. "He said they were 'relics', actually."_

_Qrow shrugged. "Whatever." he mumbled and heart a familiar sound coming from above. His head snapped in that direction to see Raven standing high up on a tree branch. They made eye contact. Hers darted towards Summer then back to his, narrowing into an irritated scowl. It was easy to guess why. He just rolled his eyes and turned away. Luckily, Summer was facing forward and didn't notice the exchange._

_They continued walking for probably twenty minutes. No Grimm or other students in sight. Though Qrow was pretty sure Raven was following them. Why she didn't just come out and walk with them was a mystery though._

_Eventually they found themselves entering a large clearing with small pillars holding what looked like black chess pieces. Four bishops to be exact._

_Summer grinned and pointed at them. "Hey, are those the relics?" she asked Qrow, but his eyes found a different sight._

_Someone else was sitting a few feet away from the relics. A boy, probably a student with blonde hair. He smiled and stood up. "Yo, I'm Taiyang."_

_After he introduced himself Summer's eyes snapped towards him. "Whoa! I didn't even see you!" she panicked. He just let out a light chuckle._

_Qrow sighed and glanced at her for a moment. Seriously? He was right there! He began to wonder how much training this girl even had at this point. Were all student hunters in the kingdom like this?_

_Though he tore himself from idle thought and started to scan the area. If this new guy was around, then he likely had a partner somewhere too... But why would he stay?_

" _I don't have a partner yet." he stated._

_Qrow snapped from his recon and turned to see the blonde looking back at him._

" _That's who you were looking for, right?" he asked. "Well, I haven't met anyone besides you guys. I was kind of hoping I'd meet someone if I just waited at the relics."_

_That made sense. Especially since none of the relics were taken, he'd know others were still out there. Though tough luck on his part that he and Summer were already partnered up._

" _Ah, well you can come with us if you'd like." Summer said._

_Qrow's eye twitched and he turned to his new 'partner'. Was she joking? Were there going to be two of them around now?_

_Taiyang shook his head. "Nah, I'd rather meet my own partner, you know?"_

_Phew._

_Summer looked like she was about to say something more when a red oval portal suddenly opened up between them._

" _W- WHOA!" Summer stuttered while stumbling backwards and tripped, landing on the grass while Taiyang took a step back. Qrow just let out a sigh._

_Out came Raven in a couple seconds and the portal closed. Of course she was smiling too, always liked to cause some chaos like this._

" _Raven." he greeted._

" _Hello, Qrow." she said then turned around to stare right into Taiyang's eyes. "Well, looks like we're partners then." she took the initiative and walked passed him. "Let's go grab those relics."_

_Qrow sighed and started to follow her, while Summer and Taiyang seemed to be trying to come to terms with what just happened._

" _Huh?!" they both gasped._

* * *

**~Present~**

"Summ- **Oof!** "

Suddenly something heavy slammed into Qrow's gut, waking him up from his slumber. "Ugh, what the-?" his eyes looked down to see Harbinger laying on his stomach. When he looked to the side of his bed he saw Winter standing over him. She tossed another set of clothes at him from his old room.

"You were mumbling in your sleep. Hurry up and get changed. You stink." she ordered and turned around to leave the cell and give him privacy.

Qrow sat up a bit now. "Uh... Hang up, what's goin' on?" he asked and rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes. Damn, it felt like he was asleep for an entire day. When he opened them again he saw her glaring right back at him.

"I'm breaking you out." she stated firmly.

**8 hours earlier**

Winter was currently inside Ironwood's office along with the four Ace Operatives. Their injuries were a lot less severe and they fully recovered already. The general was standing in front of his desk, looking at all of them.

"This is the first meeting with us all together since the... Incidents." he began and the operatives looked a bit upset. It was obvious why, they lost to the ones they were training. Quite easily if the report Winter read was true.

This didn't go unnoticed by Ironwood either. "Before we begin, I want you to know... That while defeated you may be, I am proud of each of you." he stated. The Ace Operatives looked up in surprise. Winter however held her blank expression.

He continued. "You followed my orders and acted accordingly. You all did the right thing, and did not get the results you deserve for your efforts."

 _The right thing..._ Winter's mind wandered a bit while the general gave them a pep talk.

Their scrolls also act as recording devices. It saves the last couple minutes of audio it hears, then stops a minute later after their aura reaches zero. As long as they could recover the scroll, you could listen to it. Due to this, they were able to listen in on the last few moments of Clover's life.

Or more specifically, what Qrow said to him in his final moments.

" _Why couldn't you just do the right thing?! Instead of what you were TOLD!"_

He sounded so... Angry, hurt even. Whatever it was, even Winter could tell it was his honest feelings.

" _You're not leaving me... I'm giving you a head start."_

Were those her true feelings towards Weiss? Was she doing the right thing? As a soldier, maybe... But as a sister? Weiss was basically all the _real_ family she had at this point. Or rather, used to have.

" **Schnee."**

The loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts and her eyes widened. "Sir!" she stood up straighter. It was then she noticed the Ace Operatives were gone. Probably left already. She was surprised at herself for zoning out like that, especially in front of General Ironwood.

He looked at her with a bit of concern. "I dismissed you nearly twenty seconds ago..." he said.

Winter looked a bit awkward now. "Oh... Sorry sir, my mind was... Elsewhere." she said and turned to leave.

He looked down and nodded. "Hang on."

She stopped and turned back towards him, back in attention. he seemed to be contemplating something. "At ease." he said, waving his arm and she lowered hers in kind.

"I understand you're going through a lot, Winter." he used her name, only doing so when he tries to have a more friendly conversation with her. She relaxed a bit in kind.

"You worked with Penny for a while, and she's gone after stealing the maiden's powers. Your sister, Weiss, with her." he sighed afterwards and looked right at her. Thankfully he didn't mention the battle against Cinder. She performed poorly at best. "I know it can't be easy."

_'It isn't.'_

"And you didn't deserve their betrayal." he added. She flinched a bit, If he noticed, he didn't show it.

_'"They're" betrayal?'_

"But I want you to know, I meant what I said. I'm proud of your loyalty, even more than the others." he told her.

She looked downward, not knowing what to say. "Th- thank you, general." she managed to speak.

He shook his head. "Please, my friends call me James." he smiled kindly. Her eyes widened a bit and she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came. He chuckled. "At least, when we're in casual conversation like this."

She just nodded, thought felt some happiness spark inside her. Rare for these trying times.

"I know it's... Unorthodox. But considering the events in that last 72 hours, if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here." he told her and nodded. "You're my best soldier, Winter. If being somewhat unprofessional will help you stay at your best, it's worth it."

Her eyes widened and she felt shocked. Never had the general presented this kind of equality between them. Not that she thought he ever looked down on her but... They always held military rank as a formality. The chain of command was important after all. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or terrified of the events that lead to this.

She quickly collected herself. "Th- thank you si-... James." she corrected mid-speech. "This... Means a lot to me." she told him and her eyes narrowed a bit. "But... I think I just need some time to think some things over."

He nodded. "Take what time we have." he smiled. "In the next 24 hours, we'll be connecting the main thrusters of Atlas to the staff relic. We'll be fully mobile soon, instead of a sitting floating fortress."

Her eyes widened. She didn't know of this, was it kept secret. Ironwood seemed to catch it.

"I kept it confidential. From everyone besides the engineers working on it. Though they don't even know what the power source is."

Winter just nodded, keeping a straight face. Thought internally this added more stress. They really were just leaving Mantle...

"I think I'll take my leave... Sir. There's a lot to be done." she said. She didn't know why she didn't use his name that time.

Ironwood simply nodded. "Very well, and remember, my offer always stands."

Winter turned and left Ironwood's office. Once the doors closed behind her, and she saw no one was around, the mask fell.

Her teeth gritted, fists clenched into her palms, and feelings of anger, sadness, and betrayal plagued her. Why did that conversation effect her so negatively? Ironwood was nothing but kind to her! Why was loyalty so... Hard.

_'Weiss.'_

She sighed and lifted her right hand to grasp her forehead. She put her career before her own sister. That's something... Something _father_ would do.

Taking a deep breath, Winter lowered her arm and glared forward, eyes full of determination. She knew what she had to do. Even if it meant betraying the mountain of trust Ironwood just gave her.

* * *

Winter first waited until nightfall, then went to Qrows previous sleeping quarters with a small bag and tossed in some of his clothes. Unfortunately none of them were truly 'clean'... Most being on the floor.

 _The slob._ she couldn't help but think. Though these clothes were still probably better than the ones he worse in that cell.

Next she approached the guards of the prison. There were only two, considering they only had two prisoners at the moment, both disarmed _and_ locked in a cage. Dismissing them was easy. She outranked them considerably after all.

Inside the guard room was Harbinger, placed on a shelf. She took it.

When she approached Qrow's cell, she saw him sleeping. Narrowing her eyes, she used her scroll to open the gate. "Branwen, wake up." she spoke. No response.

"Qrow!" she raised her voice. Still nothing.

"Ugh, even sober you're stubborn." she said and decided to toss his weapon into his gut.

It had the result she was hoping for.

"Summ- **Oof!** "

Suddenly something heavy slammed into Qrow's gut, waking him up from his slumber. "Ugh, what the-?" his eyes looked down to see Harbinger laying on his stomach. When he looked to the side of his bed he saw Winter standing over him. She tossed a fresh set of clothes at him from his old closet.

"You were mumbling in your sleep. Hurry up and get changed. You stink." she ordered and turned around to leave the cell and give him privacy.

Qrow sat up a bit now. "Uh... Hang up, what's goin' on?" he asked and rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes. Damn, it felt like he was asleep for an entire day. When he opened them again he saw her glaring right back at him.

"I'm breaking you out." she stated firmly.


	3. Betrayal

"Normal Speech"

_'Thinking Speech'_

* * *

Qrow was astonished to say the least. Winter Schnee breaking him out of Atlas prison? Just what the hell happened to bring this on? Any normal person would think themselves lucky, but Qrow was the exception.

Now sitting up on his bed he glared at Winter. "I don't buy it, Ice Queen." he jabbed. "Why're you doin' this? You're not one to betray your _general_." he spat the words out like a curse.

Winter visibly flinched at the word 'betray'. She wanted to argue in her defense... But couldn't. After a moments pause she still didn't truly answer. "Just get dressed." she ordered and turned to leave.

"No." he said and laid back down onto the bed.

Winter snapped her head back to look at him in shock. "'No'?!" she questioned. He just nodded.

"What do you mean 'No'?!" he asked with a mix of surprise and anger. _'This drunk can't be serious right now!'_

He scoffed. "It means 'No', Ice Queen. I ain't leavin' and falling into whatever 'plans' you and Jimmy have for me."

She gritted her teeth and glared at him. "You think this is a trick?! That I'm doing all this to get something out of you?!" she gestured to the open cell door. "I'm throwing my career away for this, Qrow! What more do you want?!"

"The truth." he growled and sat up on the bed. "'Cause I don't get it. Why're you suddenly so willing to go against Jimmy?" he then relaxed and leaned back against the wall. "Until I know that, I ain't goin' anywhere, Ice Queen."

Winter's jaw clenched and an angry glare directed itself at Qrow. One he seemed to welcome with that smug look of his. They did NOT have time for this. She got rid of the guards temporarily, so they'll be back soon... But she also knew how idiotically stubborn this buffoon was. Her muscles relaxed and she sighed.

"It's Weiss, okay?" she answered him. Though he looked at her with a bit of confusion.

He shrugged. "Your sister? What's she got to do with..." he gestured to her and the open cell door. "... This..."

Winter looked angry and her teeth now clenched. "She's out there, who knows where with the Winter Maiden, the Lamp Relic,-" she stopped her foot forward and leaned towards him. "and _your_ nieces!" she spat. His eyes widened.

 _'The Winter Maiden? That old lady?'_ He thought for a momentbut mentally shook his head. _'No... It probably passed on to someone... But who?'_

Winter took a deep breath and composed herself. "Qrow. This isn't some trick... I just think you want to find your nieces just as much as I want to find my sister, okay?" she looked right at him trying to see if she managed to convince him.

What she saw was him close his eyes and sigh, nodding his head slowly. She also released a sigh of relief herself.

About a minute later, Qrow walked out wearing... Fresher clothes along with Harbinger strapped to the back of his waist. When she turned to look at him she got a better sight and noticed bags under his eyes. Well, Heavier ones than usual. There's no way he was that sleep deprived, she just caught him resting. Was it the stress?

"We gonna get movin' or are you gonna stare at my eyes all day?" she heard him ask and it snapped her from her thoughts. She turned away and sighed. "Right. Let's go." she said and started walking.

As the two walked passed the next few cells someone called out. "Wait!" they turned to see Robyn standing a foot from her cell bars. "I heard you two talking. Please, let me out too." she asked.

Winter narrowed her eyes and stared at the woman. She only decided to break Qrow out... Doing more wou-

"Sure." Qrow answered before she could even finish the thought.

He eyes snapped to his, looking like he was crazy. He shrugged at her glare. "You're already committing treason, just go all the way at this point."

Her eyes flinched and she didn't know what to say.

_'Treason? … No, he's right... This is treason.'_

It didn't fully sink in until Qrow said it aloud. Her eyes moved towards Robyn behind the bars. "Fine, I'll let you out."

Qrow was right. She's already committing a crime that will sink her entire career. Might as well go all out.

She slid her scroll over the cell's lock mechanism and the doors unlocked, sliding open. Winter looked back up at Robyn. "Your stuff should be on a shelf in the office up ahead."

She nodded and followed the two of them to the guard room. Robyn got her weapon and supplies.

Qrow looked over towards the huntress and nodded, then turned to Winter. "Alright, where do we go from here?" he asked her.

Winter immediately went into 'mission' mode and told them the details of her plan. "We're going to go to the landing strip. There's always bullheads fueled and ready to go for emergencies." she informed them.

Robyn looked a bit skeptical. "What about guards, protocol, and clearance? I know Atlas is usually on top of their security."

Winter nodded. "We are. But I'm the highest ranking Specialist in the Atlas military, under no ones command but the General himself. If I give the order..." she paused for a moment and sighed. Memories of Clover's death recording came to Qrows view on it.

She continued anyway. "... If I give the order, they'll listen without question... Even with you two following me."

Robyn nodded but Qrow let out a scoff. "Tch, Every one of you is just a damn mindless drone."

Winter's fists clenched and she wanted to say something, but conflict now would ruin the mission.

* * *

The three of them managed to get to the landing strip easily enough. Anyone who recognized Qrow and Robyn were quickly shut down by Winter and now only one locked door was in the way of them and a bullhead.

"We're almost there." Winter told the two of them. Just stay quiet and follow me, I'll get us a bullhead, say it's for emergency use and we'll be out of here in a few more minutes.

Both Qrow and Robyn nodded so Winter lifted her scroll up to scan it on the lock.

A red light blinked and the door wouldn't open. Her brow furrowed. "What?" she hissed and waved her scroll through for clearance again. The same result.

Qrow and Robyn looked at each other, realizing something was off. Robyn was the first to press the issue. "What's wrong?"

"... My scroll wont open the door." her teeth gritted inside he mouth. _"The only reason this would happen is if Ironwood changed my clearance for the landing strip... But why?'_ her mind started to race through reasons why the General would do this. _'Did he assume I would try to escape with Qrow? I did vent my displeasure over his imprisonment... But to lock me out?'_

" **Hey."**

Her head snapped back to Qrow go grabbed her attention. "Have your career crisis later. What's the back up plan?" he asked.

Winter's expression grew nervous, looking away from the two of them and down at the floor in heavy thought.

Qrow rolled his eyes and let out a huff. "Great." he rolled his eyes. "Move over." he said and grabbed Winters shoulder pushing her away and grabbing Harbinger with his other hand. It looked like he was going to take the direct approach.

Robyn seemed to accept it, but Winter panicked, grabbing his arm. "No! You'll send out an alert, the bullheads will lock down, and we'll have guards on us in minutes."

He sighed and turned his head. "Well do you have a better plan or not?" he asked. Her eyes narrowed in thought and she let go of his arm.

"... The escape pods." she said and Qrow lowered his weapon. "They're clearance level 0, so even civilians can use them if they need to."

Qrow placed Harbinger back behind his back. So let's go, what're we waiting for?" he gestured for her to lead the way.

Winter sighed. "The only way there is through the barracks. I doubt the Ace Operatives will believe a lie about some secret mission with you two." she told them. "Though if luck's on our side, they'll all be asleep in their room."

Qrow failed at suppressing a laugh. "Whatever, let's get this over with." he said and walked passed her.

Winter looked down. _'If the general changed my clearance, then he might be ready for us...'_ This was starting to get more nerve wracking.

* * *

The three of them walked through the hallways without much issue. As they got closer to the barracks, less and less people wandered the halls this late at night.

"We're close. Passed the upcoming hall and a right at the next corner then it'll be the second room on the left." Winter told them.

Qrow rolled his eyes. "I've slept here for two months, I know where the escape pods are." he jabbed.

Winter gave him a glare. "Well Robyn doesn't." she snapped back at him.

The huntress in question suddenly looked rather awkward. "Actually..." they both looked at her now. "I... Might have managed to get leaked Atlas floor plans." she made a light chuckle. Both Qrow and Winter looked surprised but while Qrow's expression turned into a chuckle, Winter's was a scowl.

"What?! How?!" she tried to whisper though the sound carried down the hallway.

Before Robyn could answer Qrow interjected. "Whatever, it ain't important." he told them then took the lead to keep them all moving. Winter let out an irritated sigh while Robyn followed after him.

 _'I'm starting to think this was a mistake.'_ she thought and continued moving as well.

When the three of them entered the next area, it was a wide room with the lights dimmed for resting purposes. It linked to four hallways which were all sleeping quarters for various soldiers or hunters. The escape pods were down the hallway just in front of them and around the corner. They were very close and no one in sight!

But just as they stepped into the center of the room, the lights suddenly turned on. The three of them instantly went into alert mode and stood back to back, hands on their weapons.

Qrow was the first to speak. "I don't remember these lights having motion detectors." he quipped and Winter narrowed her eyes.

"That's because they don't."

Just as she said that, the first door in each hallway opened and one member of the Ace Operatives stepped out.

Harriet, Vine, Elm, and Marrow now surrounded them. Fully equipped and looked ready for a fight.

Winter and Robyn tensed up while Qrow casually sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Guess we're doin' this then." he mumbled.

Harriet was the first of the four to speak. "Specialist Winter Schnee." she'd state her title and name first. "Under the Generals orders, we're to take you into custody and put the two _criminals_ you're consorting with back behind bars."

Winter felt the words felt rather scripted for the girl. She'd been told to speak that, probably to the letter. But just before she said anything her scroll started ringing. She tensed up.

 _'A scroll call? Only people in Atlas could communicate with others in Atlas...'_ So that meant...

Harriet nodded her head sharply "Go ahead. Answer it. We'll wait."

Winter let out a breath and slowly reached her hand towards her scroll and pulled it out, opening it. The call was immediately answered revealing it to be General Ironwood. Her expression tensed up as she was now staring down her own boss. Granted, it was through a scroll call.

Ironwood only paused for a couple second, staring back before speaking. "Winter." he called. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked her.

She was actually surprised to get questioned at all. According to Atlas law, taking her into custody would be priority number one right now. Looks like she's getting some special treatment.

It took her a moment to try and compose herself. Something she was failing at, actually. Her conflicted expression didn't go unnoticed by the general so he coaxed her on. "Well?"

Her jaw clenched while she desperately tried to gain the courage to speak with the general. Literally years of service under him and this is what it amounted to... "Sir... I..." she closed her eyes and let out a sigh, then focused them to stare directly at Ironwood through the scroll.

"I'm getting Qrow... And Robyn out of here." She took a deep breath. "I... Believe they were wrongly imprisoned."

Ironwood's glare tightened. "So instead of disputing it with me, you go straight to breaking the law?"

Qrow and Robyn continued to stand on guard, trying to be ready for anything the Ace Operative threw at them while Winter and Ironwood spoke. Though Qrow gave her a glance and saw just how nervous she was right now.

Despite still looking professional, after years of knowing her, he could tell her breathing was uncoordinated. Her expression panicked. The woman's mind was probably going a million miles a second trying to think of what to say to her boss.

He turned away. That was her problem to deal with. He just had to make sure he got out of here to find his nieces.

Winter shook her head. "With all due respect, Sir, I tried to talk to you about it." she sucked in some air. "You... Refused to listen."

She wanted to tell him he was too focused on revenge. Letting his emotions and feelings of betrayal decide Qrow's punishment... But the words didn't come out.

Ironwood clenched his jaw. "I trusted you, Winter. I really did. I thought if there was **one** person who understood the importance of command and loyalty it would be **you**." his voice was a growl.

Winter scoffed. "'Trusted me'?" she questioned and her feelings suddenly decided to focus more on anger than anything else. "Changing my clearance means you trusted me? Having the Operatives ready to attack me shows trust?" she shook her head. "You only **wanted** to trust me. But in the end, you just couldn't, could you?"

Ironwood's eyes grew darker at her words and he looked down a bit. Maybe in thought. A few moments passed... Then a few more. Until...

"You're correct." she'd hear him say and her eyes widened. "I wanted to trust you." he'd clarify. "I wanted to trust you so badly that I hoped, hell I prayed that I'd wake up tomorrow mourning and I would feel like garbage for not trusting you." his brought his right hand up to rub between his eyes.

"I told myself that if you proved my suspicions wrong. If you stayed true to Atlas code, I'd tell you I didn't trust you. Tell you that I set up a scheme to trap you if you did stray... Then let you decide **my** punishment." he sighed and lowered his hand to look right at her.

"But here we are. My suspicions were correct. You're a traitor, about to be captured, and I've never felt worse." his eyes narrowed angrily. "So I guess we both lose."

The call ended and Winter heard multiple beeping noises coming from the four Ace Operatives. Harriet grimaced. "Looks like it's go time, team." she'd say and step forward. As did the other three."

* * *

**~Meanwhile~**

Weiss fell to a knee after Blake destroyed one of her 'would-be' summons to pieces for what felt like the hundredth time. The amount of clones she could make with Jaune attached to her hip was quite frankly amazing. At least ten of them up at all times, maybe a couple more for some quicker maneuvers. The amount of times they had to pause training just for Jaune to recover her aura had been six, and he _still_ wasn't out. Even while he was supercharging Blake, he really did have a lot.

"Can we... Huff... Take a break now?" she asked. Despite not running out of aura, her stamina was really getting hit here. Constantly running away from endless clones and parrying their attacks took a lot out of her. She could barely find the time to fight back.

Blake on the other hand seemed to have a hard time working together with her own clones. It was like each one was trying to do either the same thing and got in their own way or something completely different. Rarely were they ever on the same page.

The Faunus released a breath as well. "... Sounds good to me." she nodded.

Jaune however seemed fine. Not being the one to fight was making him a bit antsy, but let him able to supply the others with aura almost endlessly... Though... He started to feel like he was on the path of becoming more of an 'aura battery' than a 'huntsman'...

The knight nodded. "Alright, it's getting late anyway. I say we turn in and scrounge something up for dinner." he said loud enough for everyone to hear. Which wasn't hard, many of the other groups were tired and taking their own breaks or slowing down.

Nora for one was face first on the grass beside the treadmill she was supposed to be running on. She over did it early and blew her stamina away.

Yang and Penny actually took the most breaks since Penny kept going overboard... One mis-step on Yang's part meant losing most of her aura in one attack. Half their side of the field was actually covered in ice thanks to the Winter Maiden's powers... Jaune had to supply Yang with some aura now and again as well.

Meanwhile Ruby and Ren watched the others train. Their 'mission' started the next mourning. Apparently Maria told them to get ready and and mentally prepare themselves.

Weiss seemed to catch her breath and stood up off her knee. "What dinner? All we have are scraps from the last time your family was here."

Blake nodded. "Though it's unfortunate, we're probably going to be having pancakes again." Nora's head shot up, grinning. "We should probably start hunting nearby for animals."

The others walked over and began discussing food options. However Jaune's eyes looked down in thought for a moment. "Actually... I've been thinking about something while we were training." he interrupted them and began to walk along the side of the house. "C'mon, follow me."

A few of them looked at each other and shrugged, following Jaune.

Moment later they were staring at steel cellar doors on the opposite side of the house. They looked sturdy, probably covered in the houses defenses.

Yang looked over at Jaune. "You've got a basement too?" the blonde questioned.

Nora coughed into her fist. "Ahem Yang, I believe you mean 'cellar'." she'd correct and then leap towards the doors. "And DUH, of course he does. This IS a mansion!" she'd state as if it was obvious then turned and grabbed both handles to open it.

Though just like the front door, it wouldn't... Though that didn't stop her from trying... Again... And again. Until Ren placed he hand on her shoulder. "Uhm... Nora, maybe let Jaune try?" he proposed and her shoulders slumped.

"Oh, fine." she let go of the handles and took a few steps to the right letting out a huff.

The others looked at Jaune except for Weiss who's eyes focused on another one of those aura scanners. This one was a bit smaller and at the top of the cellar doors at it's center. She had an idea of what was going to happen next.

Jaune chuckled a bit and stepped forward. "Well... My Dad always went into the cellar whenever we needed something." he told everyone. "Food, supplies, maybe equipment, or sometimes even some balls for a game... But he never let me down there, so I figure there might be stuff we could use."

After he explained, Jaune looked towards the aura scanner and hesitated for a second. He really hoped last time wasn't a fluke.

"E- er... 'Arc'?" he spoke. More of a question, really.

The aura scanner blinked and then a ray of light shot out of it, slowly covering his body head to toe. Afterwards it'd blink again and he'd hear the doors unlock. After a moments more hesitation, he leaned down and gripped the door handles, pulling and opening them up.

"Well, guess it worked." he said and turned towards the others. Most looked impressed. Ruby and Nora were even grinning, probably excited to see what was down there.

Though when his eyes met Weiss' she quickly turned away. He didn't really like that... Something told him she was upset about something. Apparently that 'something' had to do with him, too... But he turned away instead of pressing the issue.

"Well, let's head inside." he said and took the first steps down the cellar stairs.

* * *

Qrow caught Elm's hammer with the lower half of his sword and whacked it away followed by a kick to their gut. Normally this would stagger them backwards, but their sticky semblance kept them locked to the floor. He did a quick eye roll while jamming the tip of his blade into the tiles she was standing on and lifting them up, forcing her to undo her semblance else fall backwards on the ground. She ended up backing off momentarily.

Meanwhile Winter was busy holding off both Harriet and Vine. With being overrun by two opponents, finding time to summon anything proved difficult, however firing off ice spikes to give Vine a hard time was easy enough. The hard part was keeping Harriet from sprinting passed her and getting between the three of them, or rather specifically to Robyn who was almost strictly for mid to long range support with her crossbow.

The three of them managed to work together fairly well. With one being an experienced hunter, another an Atlesian Specialist, and Robyn seeing her fair share of combat, they all knew the role they had to play. If Vine or Marrow tried any long range attacks or froze someone in place, Winter or Robyn would interrupt them. Meanwhile Qrow was making sure Elm was paying attention to no one but him, however Harriet was a bit of a wild card.

With her speed semblance she could engage either Qrow or Winter whenever she wanted. But that's all she could do. With Winter's ice and Qrow's experience on dealing with a speed semblance, she just couldn't land any hits or get passed them to attack Robyn.

Honestly speaking, there wasn't much chance for defeat here, even with being outnumbered. Winter knew all the Ace Operatives techniques and semblances by heart while Qrow, despite being a drunk wasn't lacking when it came to combat experience. Even with Robyn being their 'weakest link', she was still a fine fighter.

This was a guaranteed victory... It was _far_ too easy. Which is something Winter and Qrow pick up on soon enough.

Qrow blocked instead of parried Elm's hammer and allowed himself to slide backwards towards Winter where he could speak a few works to her mid-combat. "They're just stalling us. They're not supposed to win." he'd say once in ear shot.

Winter whacked one of Vine's arms away and then made a time glyph under Harriet to actually speed her up suddenly, forcing her to run into a wall and stagger them. "I'm aware. We have to break through."

They needed a surprise attack, which was somewhat difficult to accomplish in the middle of combat. Winter decided to act first, breaking formation and dashing forward. "Qrow, back me up." she ordered without giving him much time to argue.

After a few steps she flipped her saber and knelt down, stabbing it into the ground, creating a summoning glyph.

Marrow however saw this happening. "Oh no you don't!" he yelled and tossed his boomerang while Vine extended his arms to grab her. Qrow easily intercepted and whacked away the boomerang then flipped his sword around to upper-slice the arms. However they were just a distraction for Marrow's semblance.

He snapped his fingers and pointed at Winter. "Sta- Waaah!"

Before he could finish a Beowolf summon was already formed and leaping directly towards him. His eyes widened. For him, this just wasn't possible, Winter couldn't summon at this speed, It was nearly instant.

He closed his eyes, ready for the blow for when the Beowolf pounced into him, however instead of knocking him over, it shattered into millions of icy dust particles that blanketed the area.

It was a diversion. She couldn't fully summon a Beowolf that quickly so she made a fragile hollow one with the intent to give them a type of smoke screen upon it's destruction. Scaring Marrow into stopping his semblance was just a bonus.

Without missing a beat, Winter and Qrow dashed through the smoke with Robyn quickly following behind. After Winter asked for Qrow's help, the huntress was ready for any sign that she should get moving.

With all the Ace Operatives blinded, Harriet recovering off the ground, Vine re-creating his arms, and Marrow stunned from the fake beowolf attack. The only one who could stop them from getting to the hallway was Elm, but she was far too slow.

They did it. All three of them ran into the hallway at the end of the room and Winter turned around, allowing Qrow and Robyn to pass her. She slammed her saber into the ground one more time and created a thick ice wall which blocked the entrance entirely.

"That should keep them busy." she said and turned around. The three of them began running around the next corner.

"How long will that hold them?" Robyn asked.

Winter huffed. "Maybe Five minutes if they try to break through it, a little more if they go the other way around. Either way, we'll have enough time to access the escape pods."

"Hopefully." Qrow added which made Winter's eyes nervously narrow.

The three of them made it to the escape pod room and the doors opened without needing any clearance permissions. It was a large circular room with many doors along the walls for each pod. Winter ran to the center console and activated it, making a large hard light screen appear. She'd then begun going through it while Qrow and Robyn kept watch at the door.

"Any time Ice Queen." he said while dipping his head out the door.

Winter slammed her hand against the console, causing some flickers on the screen. "Dammit!" she shouted.

Qrow and Robyn turned towards her. "What's wrong?!" Robyn asked with worry.

"The general..." she sighed. "He launched all the escape pods remotely before we got here." Qrow and Robyn's eyes went wide.

Winter just clenched her teeth and fists feeling frustrated. She couldn't believe how hard it was just to get out of this place. It almost reminded her of home.

Robyn sighed. "Well what now?" she asked and Winter stayed silent while refusing to look at either of them.

Qrow scowled. "Oh c'mon, Ice Queen. You didn't break me outta prison just for it to end like this, did you?!"

She sighed. "No! … I'm just... Thinking." she answered and a moment later typed a bit into the console. Soon an input bar appeared on it with the word: 'Password' above it. However that's where the typing stopped.

"What's this?" Qrow asked and looked up at the hard light screen.

Winter sighed. "This... Is the final... 'Escape pod' we'll be using." she'd answer while looking up at the screen as well. "It's for... Emergencies only. Activating it will put all of Atlas in lock down."

Qrow shrugged. "Well... What gives? Plug in the password and lets get moving." she just shook her head.

"I don't know it." she'd say and turn towards him. "... The final 'escape pod' is this room. When activated, it cannot be turned off and will jettison this entire room from Atlas. If I type it incorrectly, the console will lock me out." Qrow and Robyn's eyes widened.

Robyn was the first to speak. "What? But why have something like this?" she'd ask.

Winter just narrowed her eyes and looked down. "... In the event that we are... Compromised. The escape pods will be jettisoned and Atlas will enter a lock down to keep the intruders... Along with anyone else, stuck on board."

Robyn didn't seem to follow. "But what wou-"

"A self destruct sequence? Really?!" Qrow posed it as a question, but both he and Winter knew it was an accusation. She hesitated before nodding.

Robyn looked shocked.

Qrow kept going. "Are you kidding me?! And I've been sleeping on this death trap?! Hell, my nieces, your sister were too!" he stepped forward and glared down at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking up at him.

Honestly, she doesn't ever remember seeing him this furious before. However she met his stare with her own. "No one else knows about it. There's three codes to activate self destruction. Not even I have all of them."

Qrow was about to say more before Robyn shook her head and intervened. "STOP!" she shouted and the two snapped their gazes towards her. "We can fight later." she'd say and look towards Winter. "Do you know how to get that password?" she pointed towards the screen.

Winter relaxed and sighed. That was true, they really didn't have time for this. "I'm going to get it from the general." she said looked at both of them. The two looked confused, but assumed she had some kind of plan in mind. "But just promise my one thing." she added. "If this doesn't work, and I don't get the code... We surrender."

Qrow and Robyn's eyes widened. Qrow shaking his head. "Surrender?! After all this? The hell do you mean?"

Winter met his glare with her own. "What I mean is if I can't get this password, there's no other way off Atlas. If we fight it would just result in us destroying Atlas property along with injuring soldiers, weakening Atlas, then getting captured anyway." she paused and narrowed her eyes. "I will not be the reason Atlas' defense force wont be able to stand up to Salem's attacks if they should occur." She stated. "So do we have an agreement?"

Qrow gritted his teeth and seemed to actually shake a bit but groaned and relaxed his stature. "Ugh, fine, whatever. Hurry up and just... Do whatever it is." he said and turned to walk away to continue keep watch.

Robyn looked at him as he did so then glanced at Winter once again. "... Well, I hope you succeed in... Whatever you're about to do." she said and joined Qrow.

Winter sighed. "Yeah, me too." she whispered and turned around to begin typing some things into the console. A second hard light screen appeared on the right with a scroll ringing icon. _'Come on general... Answer...'_ she gritted her teeth in suspense. If he didn't pick up her call, all hope was lost.

The screen blinked and Ironwood's face appeared on it. She nearly let out a sigh of relief but held it in to keep up appearance. "Sir." she spoke first and stood up straight with her hands behind her back in attention.

He glared at her. "Schnee." he said. "I'm not surprised you got passed the Ace Operatives. Especially with the two you have in your company. But I'm sure you've realized all this was for nothing, correct?"

Winter's eyes narrowed and she gave a slight nod. "You fired off the escape pods." she answered.

"It's all over Winter, but I'm not without mercy. Surrender now and we still talk about this and yo-"

"All but _one_." she interrupted him before he could finish. His eyes went wide and he immediately knew what she was talking about. However they relaxed after but a few seconds.

"Perhaps. But you don't have the code for that one." he said knowingly. Only he did, and no one else.

Winter shook her head and Ironwood's expression narrowed. "I do have it." she bluffed. "This isn't a call to surrender, sir." it took all her power to keep her appearance from faltering. "This is me saying goodbye."

With that, she pressed a button and hung up.

Robyn gasped and Qrow looked at her like she was crazy. "Just what are you doing?!" he asked "You said you needed the code from him!"

Winter ignored Qrow for now and started to type more into the console and now a third screen appeared on her left.

"I'm bluffing." she answered and the screen turned to mimic the first screen. With an input bar asking for a password. However this time, she typed one in.

"There's three passwords and a confirmation by the general that lead up to the destruction of Atlas. One is the ejection of the escape pods to make sure whoever we want to take out is still here. Ironwood has that one." she now paused before hitting enter. "A second is the thrusters which keep it afloat. Dr. Polendina has it." she then turned and looked at the two of them. "The third... Is the Winter Maiden's living quarters... Which is going to be my bluff." she said and slammed her fingers down on the enter key.

The screen changed to 'Password Accepted' and moments later a loud explosion was heard, and felt within Atlas. The lights inside the escape pod bay turned off and was replaced with blinking red ones signaling something was terribly wrong, along with a loud alarm ringing throughout the halls.

Winter's gaze then turned away from the stunned Qrow and Robyn to look at the second screen she was just speaking to Ironwood with. _'Come one sir... Please, take the bait.'_ her teeth inside her mouth but she stayed in attention in the event that he called, hoping he'd believe she just set off the jettison.

A moment passed. Then another. Her expression started to falter. It didn't work did it? Just as she was about to lose hope a ringing noise sounded from the console. She looked up at the screen to see someone, Ironwood was trying to reach her.

She pressed the enter button to accept the call.

"WINTER!"

That sounded about right. Pure rage aimed directly towards her. If there was one thing Winter could tell about the general right now, it's that he was unstable. He allowed his emotions to get in the way of what Qrow's punishment should have really been. He was just betrayed by close allies, including herself. Launching Atlas away from Mantle was a tough decision that he might be willing to live with, but not one that doesn't affect him. All while Salem was invading. No one in there right mind would be considered 'stable' in his position.

"Sir." she'd answer and pretend to glance over at one of the other screens. "Would you make this quick? The countdown sequence only says twenty seconds left."

Ironwood slammed his fist against his desk. "How?! How did you get the code?! Only I know it, Winter!"

Winter shrugged while keeping an emotionless mask on. However inside she was panicked. "Who knows? Maybe I just guessed." she said but Ironwood shook his head.

"'Guessed'?! That's not possible! It can't be 'guessed'! It's the most guarded secret on Atlas!"

_'Most guarded secret on Atlas?'_

She fake sighed. "'Most guarded secret', Sir? I beg to differ." her jaw tensed at this next part. It was going to be either hit or miss. "Personally, I found it rather... Obsessive." she bluffed. 'Obsessive' could have been replaced with any other word, but she chose that one due to the generals fixation with Salem.

His eyes went wide and she knew she chose correctly. "But... Only Dr. Poledina has seen it-"

Winter gasped and her mask shattered, showing her expression of desperation and shock. It seemed Ironwood put the pieces together in that very moment. He'd been tricked.

She turned and started to type something into the console.

Qrow and Robyn ran up to her, the former speaking. "You get it?" she nodded.

Ironwood was still connected though, looking furious. "Winter! Stop this!" he'd order. But she kept typing. "Once you leave, you _cannot_ come back!" her hand froze just before hitting enter. Breathing heavily, her head turned to look at general.

Ironwood could tell that effected her so he continued, much calmer now. "Winter, I try to make the hard decisions for my soldiers, but sometimes it's not so easy." he stared right at her. "Sometimes the solider has to make the hard decision and do what needs to be done." he lifted his good hand up and gestured towards her through the screen. "Now it's your turn. If you stand down now, despite being able to leave, all will be forgiven."

 _'Forgiven? After all this I could still go back?'_ her mind raced at the idea. She thought she buried herself in a hole, but the general was giving her another chance? All she had to do was... Stop... To not go after Weiss. To let Qrow and Robyn get re-arrested.

A few seconds passed and Robyn's eyes glanced between the two of them. She slowly started to raise her weapon, getting ready to threaten Winter into activating the jettison. However Qrow quickly grabbed her arm and pulled the crossbow down.

He would _not_ have another 'Clover' incident.

The abrupt action didn't go unnoticed by Winter and her gaze tore away from Ironwood to look at Qrow. His eyes weren't angry anymore, she didn't know what they looked like. Maybe sad? Was it acceptance?

He sighed. "Just do what ya' think is right, Ice Queen." he once said the same thing to Ruby back when she had to lamp and that... Kind of worked out.

Sort of.

Winter's tense eyes were replaced by softer ones and she let out a slight smile, nodding. Turning her attention back to the general she nodded towards him too. "I've decided to make the hardest decision of my career, Sir." she gave him a proper salute, seeing him smile in approval and then pressed 'enter' with her other hand.

* * *

Jaune, followed by the others aside from Maria and Pietro walked down into the cellar of the Arc mansion. They were met with a dark room and Jaune pressed his right hand against the wall to feel for any kind of switch. He found one and flipped it, turning on the lights.

They were met with a fairly large basement filled with many secured metal boxes.

A few of them made impressed sounds. Nora raced passed Jaune to open one of the containers.

"C'mon, let's see what's inside!" she said and lifted one of the lids open. Others walked over and looked along with her to find it's contents to be plenty of canned food.

Across the room Yang opened another to find some clothes. They were all neatly folded and when she reached in to pull some out, she got a pair of men's jeans and a women's dress. Seemed they were well prepared for either gender here.

There was a freezer beside some of the crates and Ren opened it up to find frozen goods. He reached in and lifted out a pound of what looked to be beef. "What is all this?" he asked. Everyone turned to look a Jaune, who seemed equally as confused. He assumed there would be some frozen food. Maybe some cans. But not in this massive abundance along with extra clothing? It was a lot to say the least...

Ruby looked a bit nervous. "Uhm... Jaune, why does it feel like your family was ready for the apocalypse?" she'd ask and he'd look down in thought, not really knowing what to say. There was so much stuff here it could feed all of them for at least two months if they rationed it correctly.

Before he could say anything, Blake spoke up. "Hey, there's a door here. It has one of those... Aura scanners on it." she said and they all looked over.

Jaune shrugged his shoulders and walked to stand before the door to speak the code word which worked the last two times.

"'Arc'."

Nothing happened as he stood in place. So he tried again. "Erm... 'Arc'?"

Still nothing. Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it's busted?" he asked and Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"Perhaps we should have Dr. Polendina look at it." her attention was then turned towards Jaune and the others went around looking into the other crates. Something was strange with this whole house, she could feel it.

After a good ten minutes, they decided to bring a couple crates back upstairs to supply the cabinets with food and water. Yang, Nora, and Jaune volunteered to lift them up, it was fairly easy with the three of them.

Meanwhile, now back outside watching them transfer the crates, Weiss grabbed Blake's arm and pulled her to the side. "Blake, I want your... Expertise on something." she'd say. Blake tilted her head to the side. Before she could respond, Weiss added- "Your expertise... As an ex-White Fang member."

The Faunus' eyes widened, but quickly collected herself. "U-uhm.." she cleared her throat. "Sure... Ask away."

Weiss sighed. "I... Want to... Describe something to you. Just tell me the first thing that pops into your head, okay?" Blake nodded slowly, not really knowing where she was going with this.

"Okay, close your eyes." Weiss said and Blake did so then she continued. "Your looking for a... Target." she began and Blake's featured seemed to scrunch up, but didn't say anything, deciding to give Weiss the benefit of the doubt.

"You eventually find out their location is in the middle of a forest with the nearest major city well over thirty miles away. You also discover they have multiple locations like this. All with food and water to sustain them for at least a month." the Heiress' eye narrowed. "What are you thinking of?"

"A safe house." Blake answered immediately. "Probably either a witness protection program or a private one."

Upon speaking those words Blake's eyes widened in surprise and snapped her head up to look at the mansion. Then back down at Weiss who seemed to have sullen expression.

Blake shook her head. "Weiss, you can't be serious." but the girl just sighed. "All the signs are there. I've seen how these types of programs work due to my family. Then the fact Jaune doesn't even realize it makes even more sense." she turned to look at him help carry one of the crates. "His parents probably didn't even tell him. He didn't even know who Pyrrha was when he entered Beacon, just that her face was on some cereal box."

Weiss turned back towards Blake now. "I doubt his family was being 'hunted down' by anyone or else he or his siblings wouldn't have been allowed to leave. But they were definitely trying to keep something safe and secret here."

Blake's expression lowered as she contemplated Weiss' words. "Do you think he knows?" she asked. Weiss just shrugged. "I think... He has an idea, maybe he always did but now especially with what we found in the basement. Like us though, he probably doesn't know what it all means."

"So what do you suggest?" Blake asked

Weiss let out a smirk. "Well, let's do some digging. There's got to be some clues in this mansion, right?"

Blake nodded. "Alright, but even if we don't find anything we tell them by the end of tomorrow, okay? No more secrets. Especially not to our comrades." she stated.

Weiss hesitantly nodded. "Yes... I suppose that'd be for the best."

* * *

Oscar and the child followed May for about a mile until they made it to what seemed to be an entrance to a Mantle dump. There was one tower which seemed to overlook the gates and after glancing around for Grim, May undid her semblance to become visible and waved her arm towards it.

There was a man on top it who seemed to recognize her and left his post immediately. A few moments later the gates unlocked and started to slide open. "May, you're back." it was a familiar voice.

"Kobalt?" Oscar asked and walked up to the blue haired member of Team FNKI. The teen in turn looked surprised. "Oscar? How're you hear? Where've you been?" he seemed to be both confused and concerned.

Oscar just sighed. "That... Is a long story." he'd say and May spoke before either one of them could. "One that can wait until we're inside. Let's go before any Grimm show up."

Both looked at her and nodded. Oscar took the child's hand and leading him inside the... Dump. Not the greatest place, but safe was safe he supposed.

It was then that the three of them heard something in the distance. High up, too. Kobalt was the first to see it.

"Uhh... What is _that_?" he questioned and pointed up in the sky.

The three others as well to see a large chunk of... Perhaps a building falling from the sky. As it fell closer Oscar narrowed his eyes and noticed one or two designs that seemed familiar.

"Is... Is that a piece of Atlas?!" he'd question. But he felt pretty confident in the statement. The other three just stared wide eyed as the large chunk crashed down into Mantle, probably a couple miles away from their current position. The noise created a loud crashing sound, as well as some vibrations within the city.

A few moment passed and May groaned. "Ugh, just what is going on now?!"

The four of them could then hear many different types of Grimm howling and screeching in the distance.

That wasn't good.


End file.
